Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75
God Judges the Wicked
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph.(A) A song.
1 We give thanks to you, God;
we give thanks to you, for your name is near.(B)
People tell about your wondrous works.(C)
2 “When I choose a time,
I will judge fairly.(D)
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants shake,
I am the one who steadies its pillars.(E)Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn.(F)
5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven[a]
or speak arrogantly.’”(G)
6 Exaltation does not come
from the east, the west, or the desert,
7 for God is the Judge:
He brings down one and exalts another.(H)
8 For there is a cup in the Lord’s hand,
full of wine blended with spices, and he pours from it.
All the wicked of the earth will drink,
draining it to the dregs.(I)
9 As for me, I will tell about him forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.(J)
10 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,(K)
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(L)
Psalm 76
God, the Powerful Judge
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph.(M) A song.
1 God is known in Judah;
his name is great in Israel.(N)
2 His tent is in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.(O)
3 There he shatters the bow’s flaming arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.(P)Selah
4 You are resplendent and majestic
coming down from the mountains of prey.(Q)
5 The brave-hearted have been plundered;
they have slipped into their final sleep.
None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.(R)
6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both chariot and horse lay still.(S)
7 And you—you are to be feared.[b]
When you are angry,
who can stand before you?(T)
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment.
The earth feared and grew quiet(U)
9 when God rose up to judge
and to save all the lowly of the earth.(V)Selah
10 Even human wrath will praise you;
you will clothe yourself
with the wrath that remains.[c](W)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
I have what I need.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
he leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths[a]
for his name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;(F)
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.(G)
Psalm 27
My Stronghold
Of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom should I fear?(A)
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
whom should I dread?(B)
2 When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,(C)
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.(D)
3 Though an army deploys against me,
my heart will not be afraid;
though a war breaks out against me,
I will still be confident.(E)
4 I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(F)
gazing on the beauty of the Lord(G)
and seeking him in his temple.(H)
5 For he will conceal me in his shelter
in the day of adversity;
he will hide me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.(I)
6 Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;(J)
I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy.(K)
I will sing and make music to the Lord.(L)
7 Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.(M)
8 My heart says this about you:
“Seek[a] his face.”
Lord, I will seek your face.(N)
9 Do not hide your face from me;(O)
do not turn your servant away in anger.(P)
You have been my helper;(Q)
do not leave me or abandon me,
God of my salvation.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.(R)
Israel’s Intermarriage
9 After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves(A) from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices(B) are like those of the Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.(C) 2 Indeed, the Israelite men[a] have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed(D) has become mixed with the surrounding peoples.(E) The leaders[b] and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!” (F) 3 When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and robe, pulled out some of the hair from my head and beard, and sat down devastated.(G)
Ezra’s Confession
4 Everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel(H) gathered around me, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles,(I) while I sat devastated until the evening offering.(J) 5 At the evening offering, I got up from my time of humiliation, with my tunic and robe torn. Then I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God.(K) 6 And I said:(L)
My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward you, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens.(M) 7 Our guilt has been terrible from the days of our ancestors until the present. Because of our iniquities we have been handed over, along with our kings and priests, to the surrounding kings, and to the sword, captivity, plundering, and open shame,(N) as it is today. 8 But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the Lord our God to preserve a remnant(O) for us and give us a stake(P) in his holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us a little relief and light to our eyes.(Q) 9 Though we are slaves,(R) our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings,(S) giving us relief, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins,(T) to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 Now, our God, what can we say in light of[c] this? For we have abandoned the commands 11 you gave through your servants the prophets, saying, “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices.(U) 12 So do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage or take their daughters for your sons.(V) Never pursue their welfare or prosperity,(W) so that you will be strong, eat the good things of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.” 13 After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt—though you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have allowed us to survive[d](X)— 14 should we break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices?(Y) Wouldn’t you become so angry with us that you would destroy us, leaving neither remnant nor survivor?(Z) 15 Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we survive as a remnant(AA) today. Here we are before you with our guilt, though no one can stand in your presence because of this.(AB)
The Woman and the Scarlet Beast
17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls(A) came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the judgment of the notorious prostitute[a](B) who is seated on many[b] waters.(C) 2 The kings of the earth(D) committed sexual immorality with her, and those who live on the earth became drunk on the wine of her sexual immorality.”(E) 3 Then he carried me away in the Spirit[c](F) to a wilderness.
I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered[d] with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.(G) 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls.(H) She had a golden cup in her hand filled with everything detestable(I) and with the impurities of her[e] prostitution. 5 On her forehead was written a name, a mystery:(J) Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Detestable Things of the Earth. 6 Then I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.(K) When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.
The Meaning of the Woman and of the Beast
7 Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the ten horns, that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss(L) and go to destruction.(M) Those who live on the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world(N) will be astonished when they see the beast that was, and is not, and is to come.(O) 9 This calls for a mind that has wisdom.[f](P)
“The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings: 10 Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast that was and is not, is itself an eighth king, but it belongs to the seven and is going to destruction. 12 The ten horns you saw are ten kings(Q) who have not yet received a kingdom, but they will receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.(R) 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.(S) Those with him are called, chosen, and faithful.”(T)
Walking on the Water
22 Immediately(A) he[a] made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone.(B) 24 Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance[b] from land,[c] battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. 25 Jesus came toward them walking on the sea(C) very early in the morning.[d] 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear.
27 Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”(D)
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.”
29 He said, “Come.”
And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strength of the wind,[e] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”(E)
32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.”(F)
Miraculous Healings
34 When they had crossed over,(G) they came to shore at Gennesaret.(H) 35 When the men of that place recognized him, they alerted the whole vicinity and brought to him all who were sick. 36 They begged him that they might only touch the end of his robe, and as many as touched it were healed.(I)
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